All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade [White 2 LP]

by The Libertines

Overview

The Libertines' 2015 comeback album Anthems for Doomed Youth seemed like it might be a one-off, but nine years later, All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade proves they're as dedicated to making new music as they are to touring. Like Anthems, their fourth album is considerably cleaner and sometimes safer-sounding than the raffish Up the Bracket and The Libertines, although the band uses this polish skillfully on "Night of the Hunter," a vignette of antihero glamor that's equal parts spaghetti western, film noir, and Swan Lake. There's also a little more fire in the performances this time around, especially on the Clash-y punk of "Oh Shit" and on "Run Run Run," the entertainingly self-aware echo of their glory days that kicks off the album. Carl Barât, Peter Doherty, and company spend as much time riffing on their status as rock & roll survivors on Esplanade as they did mythologizing their elegantly wasted twenties two decades prior, but Doherty's fascination with mortality takes on a more philosophical patina with "Songs They Never Play on the Radio"'s wry midlife angst. A mature perspective can still be rebellious -- as the years go by, the list of things to protest grows longer -- and All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade is frequently most engaging when the band reflects on the changing world around them. "Merry Old England," a cutting portrait of the attitudes that greet refugees and immigrants, is one of the album's highlights, as is "Shiver"'s driving look at the irrelevance of traditions. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	04/05/2024
Label:	Casablanca / Republic
UPC:	0602458622744
Rank:	35418

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Run Run Run
2. Mustang
3. I Have A Friend
4. Merry Old England
5. Man With The Melody

Disc 2

6. Oh Shit
7. Night Of The Hunter
8. Baron's Claw
9. Shiver
10. Be Young
11. Songs They Never Play On The Radio

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Libertines   Primary Artist